Download The Heuristics Intermodal Transport Model – User Guide

Rail freight costs
Some basic cost estimates for intermodal transport
Jonas Flodén
March 2011
This report is a part of the project “Strategic modelling of combined transport between road and rail
in Sweden” funded by the Swedish Road Administration, Vägverket, and the Swedish Rail
Administration, Banverket, through the Swedish Intermodal Transport Research Centre, Sir-C.
Jonas Flodén
Department of Business Administration
School of Business, Economics and Law
University of Gothenburg
P.O. Box 610
SE 405 30 Göteborg
Sweden
E-mail: jonas.floden@handels.gu.se
http://www.handels.gu.se/fek/logistikgruppen
http://www.sir-c.se
Telephone: +46-(0)31-786 51 31
3
3
Rail Freight Costs
Table of content
1
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 5
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
2
SOME IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF RAIL FREIGHT TRANSPORT CALCULATION ................................................................ 5
COST STRUCTURE ........................................................................................................................................ 5
DEPRECIATION ........................................................................................................................................... 6
OVERHEAD COSTS ....................................................................................................................................... 6
LEVEL OF DETAIL ......................................................................................................................................... 6
EXTERNAL COSTS AND SOCIAL VALUATION ........................................................................................................ 7
TRAIN OPERATIONS ............................................................................................................................. 8
2.1
ROLLING STOCK .......................................................................................................................................... 8
2.1.1 Engines ........................................................................................................................................................8
2.1.2 Wagons .......................................................................................................................................................9
2.2
UTILISATION ............................................................................................................................................ 11
2.2.1 Personnel costs .........................................................................................................................................12
2.3
INFRASTRUCTURE USE ................................................................................................................................ 13
2.4
ENERGY CONSUMPTION ............................................................................................................................. 14
3
BUSINESS ECONOMIC COSTS ............................................................................................................. 16
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
ENGINE COSTS.......................................................................................................................................... 16
EMPTY WAGON COSTS ............................................................................................................................... 17
USING WAGON COSTS................................................................................................................................ 18
A TYPICAL TRAIN ....................................................................................................................................... 19
4
ENVIRONMENT .................................................................................................................................. 21
5
SOCIAL ECONOMIC COSTS ................................................................................................................. 23
6
TERMINAL COSTS ............................................................................................................................... 24
6.1
SHUNTING............................................................................................................................................... 24
6.1.1 Shunting costs ...........................................................................................................................................25
6.1.2 Shunting emissions....................................................................................................................................26
6.1.3 Shunting societal costs ..............................................................................................................................26
6.2
TERMINAL HANDLING ................................................................................................................................ 26
6.3
TERMINAL COSTS ...................................................................................................................................... 27
6.4
ENVIRONMENT......................................................................................................................................... 28
6.5
SOCIAL ECONOMIC COSTS ........................................................................................................................... 28
7
RAIL COST UNCERTAINTIES ................................................................................................................ 29
8
CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................................... 31
9
REFERENCES....................................................................................................................................... 32
APPENDIX A – ELECTRIC TRAIN COSTS ....................................................................................................................... 34
APPENDIX B – DIESEL TRAIN COSTS........................................................................................................................... 39
APPENDIX C – ELECTRIC EMISSIONS ........................................................................................................................... 43
APPENDIX D – DIESEL EMISSIONS .............................................................................................................................. 45
APPENDIX E – ELECTRIC SOCIETAL COSTS .................................................................................................................... 47
4
4
Rail Freight Costs
APPENDIX F - DIESEL SOCIETAL COSTS ....................................................................................................................... 50
APPENDIX G – SHUNTING COSTS............................................................................................................................... 53
APPENDIX H – SHUNTING SOCIETAL COSTS.................................................................................................................. 55
APPENDIX I – SHUNTING EMISSIONS .......................................................................................................................... 56
APPENDIX J – TERMINAL HANDLING COSTS ................................................................................................................. 57
APPENDIX K – TERMINAL HANDLING SOCIETAL COSTS.................................................................................................... 58
APPENDIX L – TERMINAL HANDLING EMISSIONS ........................................................................................................... 59
5
5
Rail Freight Costs
1 Introduction
A number of rail cost calculations has been performed as a part of providing general input data for
the Heuristics Intermodal Transport model (HIT-model). A summary of the input data has been
presented in the report Suggested input data, written by Flodén (2011). This report intends to
provide more information regarding rail cost calculations. The cost data is for the year 2010, unless
otherwise stated. All costs are in Swedish kronor, kr (SEK).
Freight rail cost calculations are generally considered relatively challenging, due to the reluctance of
rail companies to share cost data. The number of rail haulage companies, maintenance companies,
equipment manufacturers etc. in the market is still fairly low, which limits the number of data
sources from which to obtain information. The newly deregulated market also makes companies
careful about sharing data for competitive reasons. In comparison, the road haulage market consists
of a very high number of haulage firms using similar equipment, with a large number of equipment
and service providers. Thus, road cost data is well known, while there is a lack of good rail cost data.
This report will openly show cost calculations, input data and sources. The calculations are also
available as an attached Excel file and can be obtained by contacting the author.
The cost data will focus on Swedish conditions and analyses aimed at a strategic level. The data
presented is production costs. There is a difference between cost and price. The cost is the cost
necessary to produce a service, while price is what a customer will have to pay to use a service, and
can be affected by many more factors than the actual cost of transport.
1.1 Some important aspects of rail freight transport calculation
Cost calculation is not an exact science, and the types of costs included and their estimation can vary
between different calculations. The intention of this chapter is not to instruct the reader on how to
make basic calculations, but rather to highlight some important characteristics of rail freight
calculations.
1.2 Cost structure
The cost structure in the transport industry can, as in most other industries, be divided into fixed
costs and variable costs. The division into fixed and variable costs is completely dependent on the
time period over which the system is studied. Rent for a terminal area is, for example, a fixed cost on
a day-to-day basis, but a variable cost over a 20-year period, where a choice may be made to close
the terminal. Similarly, if a decision has been made to operate a train according to a certain timetable
during the next year, the cost of operating the train can be considered a fixed cost during that year.
The fixed costs are, thus, really variable costs that can be considered fixed for the chosen time
period. Many of the fixed costs are also shared costs, e.g. general administration, which either have
to be considered jointly for the entire business or allocated to suitable cost units, e.g. lorries.
The variable costs can be further subdivided into costs variable by time and distance transported.
Commonly mentioned time-dependent costs are financial costs, salary costs, vehicle taxes and
insurance. Commonly mentioned distance dependent costs are tires, fuel, maintenance, kilometre
taxes, and rail infrastructure fees. As mentioned above, some of these costs are regarded as fixed
costs in many calculations, depending on the time frame.
6
6
Rail Freight Costs
The division in fixed, variable, time and distance-dependent costs might sometimes appear arbitrary.
For example, the capital cost of a piece of equipment can be considered a fixed cost for a year, but
can also be allocated into a cost per time or cost per distance, if the yearly utilisation is known. The
principle is then to choose the allocation that gives the fairest representation of the real costs, and
matches the way in which the output from the calculation is to be used.
1.3 Depreciation
Expensive equipment that is purchased for use over a long period of time is normally depreciated
over its service life. This means that the initial cost is allocated over several years in the company’s
bookkeeping. This is also done when calculating the running costs. Calculations often separate
economic life and technical life. Technical life is how long the assets can technically be used, while
economic life is how long it is economically meaningful to use it. The economic life is often shorter
than the technical life, since new inventions and increasing maintenance costs make it unprofitable
to continue using the assets.
Production cost calculations should assume that the cost of an investment is allocated to the period
of use, i.e. that the cost is divided over its entire economic life. However, many companies use a
shorter depreciation time for accounting purposes, e.g. for tax reasons or that the economic life
became longer than was expected when the equipment was purchased. The easiest, and perhaps
most common, method of allocating the costs is to use linear depreciation, i.e. the same sum is
depreciated each year.
1.4 Overhead costs
All operations also include certain costs that are difficult to allocate to a specific activity in the
company, e.g. general administration, some insurance, advertising costs etc. These are very much
dependent on the specific conditions in the organization, and therefore make it hard to obtain
general estimates. Most calculations include these overhead costs as a percentage surcharge to the
other costs. The underlying cost is then a general cost driver for the overhead costs. This practice
might create some unintended effects in calculations with very high fixed costs, as is the case in
transport cost calculations. It can be argued that a new, expensive rail engine will not require more
administration than an old low-cost engine operating in exactly the same transport system, but that
rather the opposite may be the case, since the number of breakdowns, etc., are likely to be smaller
for the new engine. Also, the amount of necessary administration might be significantly different
between a small company and a large company. However, unless the specific administrative costs are
known, it is recommended to use a percentage surcharge. A general estimate of 10-15% can be used.
This percentage surcharge could be lower if equipment with high capital costs is used, as the general
administration costs are not likely to increase only because the equipment is more expensive.
1.5 Level of detail
Perhaps the most important thing to know about cost calculations is that they will never be
completely correct. This is particularly true when trying to estimate the costs of equipment that will
be used for 35 years. Of course, one should always try to make the calculations as accurate as
possible, but it is also important to realise that the right level of detail must be used, and the same
level of detail should be used in all aspects of the calculation. For example, it is not necessary to
calculate the specific tax effects for the pension fees included in the salary, while at the same time
7
7
Rail Freight Costs
only using a rough estimate of the actual salary paid. The level of detail in the calculations should
match the quality of the input data and the intended use of the output data.
1.6 External costs and social valuation
Apart from the direct operating costs, transport also incurs substantial external costs. External costs
are caused by external effects which occur when (Button, 1993, p. 93)
the activities of one group affect the welfare of another group without any payment or compensation
being made.
Note that external effects, by definition, can be both positive and negative. Many of these external
effects can be attributed to environmental pollution but there are also many other external effects
(Button, 1993), such as noise, visual intrusion (e.g. destroying a beautiful view), risk of accidents, and
the barrier effects of a road. Button makes a division between technological externalities and
pecuniary externalities. Technological externalities are effects caused directly by production or
consumption, e.g. building a road destroys a beautiful view, while pecuniary effects are indirect
effects, e.g. when traffic diverted to the new road takes potential customers away from a garage on
the old road, causing a reduced income for the garage. A further distinction can be made between
pollution and congestion, where pollution is an external factor that affects actors external to the
medium, e.g. plants killed by exhaust fumes. Congestion is when the external effect affects actors
that are also using the medium, e.g. private motorists are caught in queues caused by lorries.
The notion of external effects is also closely linked to the social cost perspective and valuation of
costs. The social cost perspective aims at (Bohm, 1996, p. 12)
taking into consideration all individuals’ appraisals of, in principal, everything produced or
consumed /used, i.e. not only the purely material aspects
Society, from this perspective, includes not only the government and public sectors, but all citizens
and companies in society. Social cost valuations of transport are commonly made, particularly in
conjunction with infrastructure investments and as a part of political decision processes. The
valuations aim at including the external effects in the decision process, where the external effects are
included in monetary estimation1. Naturally, it is very difficult to find a fair way to valuate these
aspects. For example, if building a new road will destroy the local habitat of a small frog threatened
by extinction, how can this loss be valued? The effects occur on three levels: local, regional and
global. Local effects are health effects, contamination (dirt) and corrosion. Regional effects include
damage to the environment and health effects. Global effects are the green house effect and
reduction of the ozone layer (SIKA, 2002). Some general values for social costs have been decided by
the Swedish Institute for Transport and Communications Analysis (SIKA)2 (SIKA, 2008)), to be used for
Swedish national transport planning. These values are used in this report.
1
Social cost valuation can, of course, also be non-monetary, but the general aim is to include as much factors as possible as
monetary. A division can be made between social cost calculation, where everything is included at monetary values, and
social analysis where none-monetary values are included.
2
Recently renamed the Swedish Agency for Transport Policy Analysis (TrafikAnalys).
8
8
Rail Freight Costs
2 Train operations
Freight trains are operated either as block trains, wagon groups or wagon loads. A block train is a full
train in which all the wagons are being sent between the same origin and destination. A wagon group
is a group of wagons that are being sent between the same origin and destination. The wagon group
is shunted between trains. A wagon load is a single wagon. The wagon is sent in the wagon load
system, where the trains exchange wagons at central marshalling yards. The most efficient transport
is the block train, followed by wagon groups and the last wagon load.
Intermodal freight transport in Sweden today almost exclusively operates with the use of block
trains. Block trains are assumed in these calculations.
2.1 Rolling stock
The equipment used in the Swedish railway sector is still largely influenced by the equipment used by
the former state railway, SJ, before the deregulation in 2001, since the former state railway and its
privatised elements still dominate the rail sector. The long technical life of rail equipment means that
the equipment from before the deregulation has only recently begun to be replaced.
2.1.1 Engines
SJ used a standard type RC electrical engine for almost all their electrical trains, both passenger and
freight. Diesel engines type T44, was used for the diesel line haul and some shunting. The RC engines
were built by ASEA between 1967 and 1988, and exist in a number of different versions (RC 1 to RC7).
An RC engine weighs 78 tonnes and can pull trains of about 1600 tonnes. This engine still remains the
most common electrical engine in Sweden. Recently, this type has started to be replaced by more
modern engines from Bombardier’s TRAXX-family and the SIEMENS Eurosprinter. These engines
weigh about 84 tonnes and can pull trains of about 2000 tonnes.
Figure 1 Two RC4 engines (Picture: Flodén)
Diesel line haul is not that common in Sweden, since most lines are electrified. The type T44,
manufactured between 1968 and 1987, is still the most common diesel engine, although a limited
number of modern engines are starting to appear. The T44 weighs 76 tonnes and can pull trains of
about 900 tonnes in a line haul, but is heavier when shunting. Other common types are the old TMY,
TMX and TMZ engines purchased from the Danish railways. Only a few modern diesel engines are
operated in Sweden.
9
9
Rail Freight Costs
Figure 2 A TMY diesel engine (Picture: Wikipedia)
More information about the different engines types currently used in Sweden can be found on the
Lokguiden (the Engine Guide) homepage3.
The technical life of a rail engine might be very long. 50-year-old engines, such as the diesel TMY and
TMX, are still used in the Swedish rail network, although in limited numbers. A more normal (Nelldal,
2011)economic life expectancy for a rail engine is about 35 years4. The economic life can also be
extended by upgrades and modernisations. Green Cargo recently ordered an upgrade of their 35-40
year old type RC2 and RC3 electrical engines. This is expected to prolong their service life by 15-20
years (Green Cargo, 2007) at a cost of about 25 million SEK each5 (Green Cargo, 2010)
The oldest engines tend to be used by smaller independent operators, due to their relatively low
purchase price. An old RC engine can be valued at about 10 million SEK (depending on its age and
exact type6) as compared to a new TRAXX engine at about 35 million SEK (Nelldal, 2011). A new
operator starting its business is likely to prefer a less expensive engine (but with higher operating
costs), in order to reduce the initial need for capital. One particular problem with the rail engine
market is the different technical standards in different countries. In most cases, it is not possible to
move an engine from one country to another without having to adapt that country's signalling
system, electricity system, certificates and approval, etc., to the local standards, a process which
might be expensive. This limits the market for second-hand engines. Leasing a modern engine is also
an option for an operator who wants access to modern equipment without the high investment
costs, although this is more expensive than using an old engine. The availability of leasing engines
that are technically adapted to smaller markets, such as the Swedish market, might also be limited.
2.1.2 Wagons
Several different rail wagons and wagon manufacturers exist. However, all manufacturers classify
their wagons according to a classification system laid out by the UIC (International Union of
Railways), where letters are used to identify the characteristics of a wagon. For example, an Lgns
wagon is a flat wagon with separate axels (L) used for container transport (g), with a max load of at
least 30 tonnes (n) and suitable for speeds up to 100 km/h (s). Thus, two Lgns wagons from different
3
http://www.jarnvag.net/index.php/lokguide
Bark states 25-30 years and Nelldal states 35 years.
5
42 engines modernised at a total cost of 1.1 billion SEK.
6
The RC engines are between 43 and 22 years old and exist in several versions.
4
10
10
Rail Freight Costs
manufacturers might have a slightly different design and set of technical specifications, but they
share the same classification.
The most common types of wagons for intermodal transport in Sweden are Lgns, Sgns and Sdggmrss.
A two-axle standard container Lgns wagon weighs 12.5 tonnes and has a length of 17.1 meters. The
wagon can carry two 20’ containers/swap bodies or one 40´container, and can load 33 tonnes (gross
weight of containers). This is, in essence, a flat wagon with pins to fasten the containers together.
This is an older type of wagon that can be purchased second-hand for about 100 000 SEK, with an
expected service life of 15 years. Maintenance costs are about 0.10 SEK/km (Nelldal, 2011).
Figure 3 Lgjns wagon (source: Green Cargo homepage)
The Sgns wagon is a four-axel wagon weighing 20 tonnes. The wagon can carry three 20’
containers/swap bodies or combinations of 20’, 30’ and 40’containers/swap bodies. The wagon
length is 19.6 meters and it can load 70 tonnes (Green Cargo, 2011). The cost of purchasing a wagon
is about 700 000 kr, with an expected service life of 50 years. Maintenance costs are about 0.15
SEK/km (Nelldal, 2011).
Figure 4 Sgns wagon (source: Green Cargo homepage)
Trailers are normally transported in sdggmrss wagons, which are equipped with “pockets” to
accommodate the wheels of the trailer. These are longer six-axle wagons (34.2 meters) which can
carry two trailers or four 20’ containers/swap bodies, or combinations thereof. Tara weight is 34.8
11
11
Rail Freight Costs
tonnes and maximum load is 100 tonnes. The cost to purchase a wagon is currently about 1.3 million
SEK with an expected service life of 30-35 years (Nelldal, 2011, Oehrstroem, 2005). Maintenance
costs are about 0.25-0.30 SEK/km (Oehrstroem, 2005). It is more expensive than other wagon types,
but this multipurpose wagon can carry all common load unit types.
Figure 5 Sdggmrss wagon (source: Green Cargo homepage)
When operating a train service, more wagons are needed than those that are actually installed on
each train. A number of spare wagons is needed when other wagons are in for maintenance, repairs
etc. The necessary number of wagons is difficult to estimate. A large operator will obtain scale effects
and can share the reserve wagons between several train services, which is not possible for a small
operator.
2.2 Utilisation
A key factor influencing the cost of operating a train is the utilisation of the equipment. Due to the
high fixed costs associated with engines and wagons, it is important to utilise the equipment as much
as possible in order to keep the fixed costs per km as low as possible. A train operating on a 500km
shuttle service each week night and staying idle during the day will have a total utilisation (excl.
holidays, maintenance etc.) of roughly 120 000 km per year (500*5*48). If the same train could run
twice per day, every day of the week, the utilisation would be 364 000km (500*2*7*52), or almost
three times as often. However, the fixed costs concerning the cost of capital would stay the same.
Official statistics show that Sweden has 316 electrical engines available for freight transport, which
performed 43 678 000 train kilometers in 2008. This would provide an average utilisation of 138 000
km per engine (SIKA, 2009). However, the individual variations are very large; some old engines are
used very little, mainly as backup or for shunting. Thus, the median utilisation is larger. The same
calculations for a diesel engine are not meaningful, as they result in unrealistic low utilisations,
probably caused by the fact that most diesel engines are used for shunting7.
The utilisation of the rail wagons is normally lower than that of the engines. The standard procedure
for intermodal transport begins when an engine delivers a number of rail wagons to a terminal and
then leaves to perform other haulage. The wagons are left at the terminal, where they are unloaded
and re-loaded for a couple of hours. A rail engine then returns to pick up the wagons. As for engines,
it is very hard to estimate an average utilisation. Statistics show that the average Swedish freight rail
7
222 diesel engines performs 3 940 000 trainkm.
12
12
Rail Freight Costs
wagon travels about 71 000km per year8. It is likely that intermodal wagons, often operating in
shuttle trains, have a higher utilisation. Nelldal (2011) estimates a utilisation of 110 000 km per year
for a Lgs wagon and 220 000 km per year for a Sgns/Sddgmrs wagon.
If known, it is obviously recommended that the planned utilisation of the train system under
calculation be used, since these costs are highly dependent on the design of the specific train system,
and will in many cases be a decisive factor in the profitability of a system.
The length of the train and the number of wagons might also differ. Generally, a maximum train
length of 630 meters can be used in Sweden, which equals about 18 sdggmrs wagons, 20 sgns or 36
lgns wagons. The maximum train length depends on a number of factors, such as train weight, type
of engine, breaks, terrain etc., but most often, the limiting factor is the length of the side tracks used
for meeting other trains on a single track line. However, the Swedish rail traffic regulations stipulates
a maximum train length of 730 meter or 880 meters depending on the breaks, but also states that
the infrastructure will generally not allow such long trains (Trafikverket, 2010b).
A typical intermodal train in Sweden, according to data from one of the large operators, (Bäckström,
et al., 2009) is 410 meters with 20 Sgns wagon and 60 TEU capacity. The train weight is 806 tonnes
(excl. engine) and the loaded weight on the train was 398 tonnes, consisting of 45 TEU, of which 18
TEU were empty units. The average load per wagon is 19.9 tonnes. Looking at the freight train in
general, the average freight train in Sweden has a weight of 490 net tonnes (Nelldal, et al., 2005), i.e.
approximately 15 wagons.
The average speed of a freight train in Sweden is about 70km/h. This assumes a, more or less,
continuously running block train, a speed which might drop substantially, e.g. if shunting and
marshalling is required. This is particularly noteworthy in a European context where wagon load
traffic can have substantial waiting times at congested marshalling yards.
2.2.1 Personnel costs
Wages can vary between operators. The largest freight train operator in Sweden, Green Cargo, pays
their engine drivers 28 000 kr per month, 12 months per year, after two years working experience
(Green Cargo, 2009a, Green Cargo, 2009b). Added to this is a holiday pay (0.8% of the monthly pay
per day on holiday) and other surcharges, such as overtime pay, overnight allowances and on call
time. Most notably, night work between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. is paid 37.20 extra per hour. Most freight
trains are run during the night. According to national statistics from Statistics Sweden, the average
salary of an engine driver (both passenger and freight), including surcharges, is 29 000 kr (SCB, 2009).
Added to this are taxes paid by the employer, currently 31.42% in Sweden (Skatteverket, 2011), and
other charges such as collective insurances and extra pension fees agreed on with the union. These
other charges can vary between different employers but is normally around 7.5%, of which 4.5% is
pension fees. The working time is 36 hours per week for employees that work at night and 40 hours
for employees that work during the day. The workers have 25 days of vacation per year plus national
holidays, such as Christmas, Easter etc.(Green Cargo, 2009a). This provides a total number of working
8
Calculated based on SIKA (2009). Total transport tonnekm (weight of all goods transported) subtracted from
total wagontonnekm (weight of all goods and wagons) to get wagontonkm excl. goods (22.8
milliongrosstonkm). Average weight of a rail wagon in Sweden (20.5 tonnes) calculated by using the number of
wagons (15 623 total) of each type and an average weight per type. From this, the average km per wagon can
be calculated.
13
13
Rail Freight Costs
hours per year of about 1 600 hours for nighttime workers. About 75% of this time is spent actually
driving a train (Nelldal, 2011).
2.3 Infrastructure use
Rail infrastructure (tracks, etc.) is publicly owned in Sweden and each railway operator pays a fee to
use the infrastructure. The fee is divided into one fixed fee part for the train and one flexible
element that changes depending on train weight/length. Note that this might be different in other
parts of Europe. The current infrastructure fees in Sweden for 2011 are:
Train path for a freight service
SEK 0.27/train-kilometre, (1.67 on high standard lines)
Track charge
SEK 0.0036/gross tonne-kilometre
Accident charge
SEK 0.81/train-kilometre
Emission charge, diesel-powered engine
SEK 0.87/litre of diesel fuel
Table 1 Infrastructure charges
There are further fees to use marshalling yards, “parking fees,” use of stations, etc. in Sweden. Some
parts of the network with higher standards also have higher train path fees for trains using that part
of the network. This applies for the main lines between Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö and
some other lines. A large share of intermodal trains in Sweden can be expected to, at least partly,
use the high-standard part of the network, as these are the lines with the highest demand for freight
transport (excluding iron ore). There is also an extra passage charge for passing certain congested
points, e.g. Stockholm main central, at certain times of the day, of 150 kr per passage (Banverket,
2010, Trafikverket, 2010b)
Figure 6 High level fee network marked in bold red on the map (Banverket, 2010, p.10)
14
14
Rail Freight Costs
All fees can be found in the Network Statement available on the infrastructure managers’
homepages. In the case of Sweden: www.trafikverket.se See alsohttp://www.railneteurope.com for
fees from other countries. Note that infrastructure charges in Sweden are likely to be raised in the
coming years.
2.4 Energy consumption
The energy consumption from a train can vary depending on many factors, such as train weight, air
resistance, terrain and the driver's skills. The drag created by the wagons often has a huge impact on
consumption. An empty flat wagon between two loaded wagons might, for example, drastically
increase consumption. Empty timber wagons with a large number of poles are known to create a
great deal of drag. Some operators report that, under extreme circumstances, they might even have
more energy consumption on an empty train than on a full one.
In calculations, the energy consumption of a freight train is often assumed to be linear, i.e. one extra
tonne adds X in energy consumption. This is not used because it is clearly true, but because it is the
best approximation that can be made without any detailed study of the specific train service. This is
also used by infrastructure providers to charge train operators for their electricity consumption. On a
deregulated market, such as the Swedish market, all rail operators must pay the rail administration
for their electricity consumption. The Swedish rail administration (Trafikverket) charges intermodal
trains 0.0212 kwh/grosstonnekm (Trafikverket, 2010b). Charges for other trains vary from 0.0112
kwh/grosstonnekm for iron ore trains and 0.0189 kwh/grosstonnekm for general freight trains, to
0.0327 kwh/grosstonnekm for freight trains faster than 130km/h9. The EcoTransIT project has
calculated the energy consumption for general freight trains depending on the train weight. They
estimate the consumption of a 500 tonnes train at 0.024 kwh/grosstonnekm, for a 1000 tonnes train
at 0.017 kwh/grosstonnekm and 0.014 kwh/grosstonnekm for a 1500 tones train (IFEU, 2008).
Bäckström, et al. (2009) has collected data from an intermodal transport operator and estimated the
consumption at 5.84 kWh/train km plus 0.0147 kWh/grossetonnekm, including 15% transmission
losses.
However, Trafikverket’s consumption estimates are the most appropriate to use for cost calculations,
since electricity is charged according to their model. The rail administration includes conversions and
transmission losses in the price and considers power feedback, resulting in different prices for
different engine types. The current price (forecasted price for 2011) for an RC engine is
0.7315kr/kWh (25% transfer loss) and 0.6807kr/kWh (16% transfer loss) for a TRAXX engine
(Trafikverket, 2010a). The price will vary for each month, depending on the current market price on
electricity.
Diesel line haul faces similar problems in determining the fuel consumption. Bäckström, et al. (2009)
reviews the fuel consumption and emission data from diesel hauling and concludes that it is difficult
to obtain good consumption and emission data, in particular for shunting. Bäckström et al. presents
an equation based on ARTEMIS data where fuel consumption = 1.89 *trainkm + 0.0053 *
grossetonkm. A modern engine is expected to have 20% lower fuel consumption, resulting in: fuel
consumption = 1.51 *trainkm + 0.00424 * grossetonkm. The cost of diesel is 5.18 SEK/litre (SPI,
2011). Note that rail traffic in Sweden does not pay fuel taxes.
9
Note that the real electricity consumption will be charged for engines with electricity meters installed. Only
engines without electricity meters will be charged according to these generalised estimated.
15
15
Rail Freight Costs
When comparing the cost and emissions between diesel and electric line hauling using the cost
estimates in this report, it should be noted that the energy consumption is allocated differently to
engines and wagons. The electric line haul uses linear energy consumption, i.e. assuming that each
added tonne consumes the same amount of energy. The diesel line haul uses a two-step
consumption where a fixed consumption is assigned to the train (i.e. the engine in the calculations
below), followed by a linear consumption for each added tonne. Thus, the different representations
affect how the total consumption is allocated among the components of the train. Different
representations are chosen to more correctly represent the true costs. The diesel fuel model more
closely represents the real fuel consumption, i.e. the real fuel costs, while the electricity method is
chosen since it is the model used by the rail administration to charge electricity costs.
16
16
Rail Freight Costs
3 Business Economic Costs
Three different cost levels have been calculated for rail costs in order to reflect how the costs can be
substantially different, depending on the equipment used and its utilization. The low-cost alternative
represents transport that uses old second-hand equipment with a high utilisation. The medium cost
alternative represents modern equipment with medium utilisation. The high cost alternative
represents top-of-the-line equipment with a low utilisation.
Low
Medium
High
Engine type,
electric line haul
Second hand RC4 engine
New TRAXX engine
New TRAXX engine with
dual voltage system and
ERTMS
Engine type,
diesel haul
Second hand T44, TMZ or
similar
New Vossloh Euro 4000
New Vossloh Euro 4000
Utilisation
High
Medium
Low
Wagon type
Lgjs
Sgns
Sdggmrs
Load carriers
Swap body, containers
Swap body, containers
Swap body, containers,
trailers
2
3
4
TEU per wagon
Table 1 Train types
Costs have been calculated on three levels: the cost of the engine, the cost of a new rail wagon, and
the cost of using a rail wagon. The cost of the engine represents the costs associated with starting a
new train, such as driver salary, engine costs and infrastructure charges related to the engine and
train. The cost of a new rail wagon includes cost for the wagon and energy consumption, and
infrastructure charges related to the weight of the empty wagon. The cost of using a wagon includes
the costs of energy consumption and infrastructure charges of the freight loaded onto the wagon.
This report will present data for each train type. Note that it is not possible to “change” wagons, e.g.
by taking the summary cost from the Sdggmrs-wagon and using it with engine data from the T44
engine, since the energy consumption for the wagon is based on the engine type used. However,
these “change” calculations can easily be performed in the separate Excel-file, with cost calculations
that are available with this report or that can be obtained from the author. The calculations are also
included in the appendix.
3.1 Engine costs
The engine cost includes the cost of the engine, energy consumption of the engine, maintenance,
track charges for the train service and the gross weight of the engine and the personnel cost.
The calculations will assume an economic life of 35 years for the rail engines, as this is when an
operator will probably have to replace or modernise the engines. No salvage value is included in the
calculations, as this value would probably be rather low and difficult to estimate. A linear
depreciation will be used during the entire economic life, i.e. the same cost is allocated to each year,
as the utilisation of the engine is expected to be the same during each year of its service life.
17
17
Rail Freight Costs
The capital costs are higher when the asset is new and is reduced when the depreciations are made.
The real cost of capital can be used when it is known, but for general calculations an average cost of
capital is used. Mot operators also have a mix of old and new assets, which makes an average cost
realistic.
Electric train
It is assumed that the engine can find other uses while the wagons are loaded/unloaded. Thus, the
utilisation of the engine is higher than that of the wagons.
Time-dependent
SEK/hour
Distance
dependent
SEK/km
Diesel
train
Time-dependent
SEK/hour
Distance
dependent
SEK/km
Low
Medium
High
739
1299
1871
11.60
10.40
12.05
783
1093
1436
33.15
23.25
24.40
Table 2 Engine line haul costs
3.2 Empty wagon costs
The wagon cost includes the cost of the wagon, energy consumption, maintenance and track charges
by gross weight. This is the cost for using an empty wagon, which is represented by using the empty
weight to calculate energy consumption.
The cost refers to the time wagons run in a train. Wagons are also tied up at terminals for a large part
of the day; however, the costs for waiting have been included in the costs presented here. Thus, no
extra cost should thus be allocated for waiting time when this data is used. This can be changed in
the Excel sheet by changing the field “Time in traffic” to include waiting time.
The cost of reserve wagons, i.e. spare wagons to use when wagons are out of service for
maintenance, repairs etc., is not included.
Rail Freight Costs
Diesel
train
Electric
train
18
18
Low
Medium
High
Time dependent
SEK/hour
7.26
13.45
46.31
Distance
dependent
SEK/km
0.39
0.56
1.07
Time dependent
SEK/hour
33.15
23.25
24.40
Distance
dependent
SEK/km
7.26
13.45
46.31
Table 3 Empty wagon costs
3.3 Using wagon costs
This is the cost of transporting something on the rail wagon. This includes the added energy
consumption and track charges by the new weight. However, all capital costs are already allocated to
the empty wagon. The calculations assume a fill rate of about 40% in each load unit.
These costs are rather low and many other cost calculations do not separate between empty and full
wagons. Instead they use an average load factor of the train, e.g. 75% of the wagons are loaded, and
include this in an average wagon cost.
Electric
train
Time dependent
SEK/hour
Distance
dependent
SEK/km
Diesel
train
Time dependent
SEK/hour
Distance
dependent
SEK/km
Low
Medium
High
-
-
-
0.46
0.64
0.71
-
-
-
0.86
1.04
1.14
Table 4 Using wagon costs
19
19
Rail Freight Costs
3.4 A typical train
Transport costs are often referred to as cost per tonnekm or trainkm. The numbers have therefore
been calculated for an average type of train with 60 TEU, 75% loaded wagons and 20% spare wagons.
The number of wagons, train weight and train length are different across the trains, since they use
different equipment, including different load units. Other train types can easily be calculated from
the data above or the Excel file.
Low
Medium
High
Number of wagons
30
20
15
Train lenght, meters
529
411
532
Load units per wagon
2 * 20’
1*20’ and 1*40’
2*trailer
60
60
60
Share of loaded
wagons
75%
75%
75%
Number of TEU
on the train
45
45
44
Number of load units
on the train
45
30
22
Train weight, tonnes
927
948
991
Net weight on train,
(excluding load units
tara weight)
473
465
383
per train km
47.96
54.96
74.68
per gross
tonne km
0.05
0.06
0.08
per net tonne
km
0.10
0.12
0.20
per TEU km
1.07
1.22
1.66
per train km
86.29
76.03
91.66
per gross
tonne km
0.09
0.08
0.09
per net tonne
km
0.18
0.16
0.24
per TEU km
1.92
1.69
2.04
Diesel train cost, SEK
Electric train cost, SEK
TEU positions
Table 5 Typical train costs
20
20
Rail Freight Costs
Electric train cost, SEK
The cost difference between the train types can also be shown as a percentage. Note that the
difference in net tonne cost is largely dependent on the trailer being used as the load unit for that
train. The difference would be smaller if containers where used; however, the use of trailers shows a
large cost span that exists within rail transport. It is interesting to note that the medium cost diesel
train provides a lower total cost, due to its reduced fuel consumption compared to that of an older
engine.
Low
Medium
High
100%
115%
156%
per gross
tonne km
100%
120%
160%
per net tonne
km
100%
120%
200%
100%
114%
155%
100%
88%
106%
per gross
tonne km
100%
89%
100%
per net tonne
km
100%
89%
133%
100%
88%
106%
per train km
per ITU km
Diesel train cost, SEK
per train km
per ITU km
Table 6 Typical train costs in percentage of the low cost train
The costs can also be divided into different cost components for the train10. The electricity costs and
capital cost of the engine are the largest expenses, except for low-cost trains with old second-hand
engines.
Share of cost per train type
Cost component
Low
Medium
High
Electricity
30%
25%
19%
Cost of capital, engine
6%
18%
23%
Over-head costs
13%
13%
13%
Salary
13%
12%
9%
Maintenance, engine
16%
11%
9%
Infrastructure fee
9%
9%
8%
Cost of capital, wagons
7%
7%
14%
Maintenance, wagons
6%
5%
6%
Figure 7 Share for each cost component for electric powered train
10
The reason that the over-head cost is not 15% as used in the calculations, is that it is used as a surcharge, i.e.
15% of the underlying value. The table shows the share of the total cost, including the over-head costs.
21
21
Rail Freight Costs
4 Environment
Freight trains in Sweden only purchase electricity from renewable sources, which produce very low
levels of emissions when the electric line haul is used. However, it can easily be argued that it is not
possible to buy only some of the electricity on the market, and that the emissions should be
estimated according to the national mix of energy sources. The electricity mix can also be
substantially different in other countries with fewer renewable energy sources. However, emissions
in these calculations are based on the electricity mix purchased by the Swedish rail administration
and contain only renewable energy sources, mainly hydropower. The calculations are based on
emission data from Bäckström, et al (2009).
Wagon in use
Empty wagon
Engine
Gram emission per
enginekm or
wagonkm
CO2
Low
Medium
High
0.164
0.200
0.200
NOx
0
0
0
HC
0.00060
0.00073
0.00073
CO
0.00431
0.00525
0.00525
PM
0.000072
0.000088
0.000088
SO2
0
0
0
Energy, MJ
8.67
10.56
10.56
Emission costs, SEK
0.21
0.21
0.21
CO2
0.026
0.048
0.084
NOx
0
0
0
HC
0.00010
0.00018
0.00031
CO
0.00068
0.00127
0.00221
PM
0.000011
0.000021
0.000037
SO2
0
0
0
Energy, MJ
1.37
2.55
4.45
Emission costs, SEK
0.00004
0.00008
0.00014
CO2
0.044
0.075
0.082
NOx
0
0
0
HC
0.00016
0.00027
0.00030
CO
0.00115
0.00196
0.00215
PM
0.000019
0.000033
0.000036
SO2
0
0
0
Energy, MJ
2.30
3.95
4.33
Emission costs, SEK
0.00007
0.00006
0.00011
Table 7 Electric line haul emissions
For diesel line hauls, there is a large difference between old and new engines. A modern engine
might produce, for example, almost half the emissions of NOx, HC and PM compared with an old
engine (Banverket and SIKA, 2002). The calculations are based on emission data from Bäckström, et
al (2009). Note that emission data for rail engines are difficult to obtain. The emissions are therefore
based on data for new and modernised T44 diesel engines.
Rail Freight Costs
Empty wagon
Engine
Gram emission per
enginekm or
wagonkm
CO2
Wagon in use
22
22
Low
Medium
6424.44
High
5134.48
5156.00
NOx
148
34
35
HC
6.13
0.97
0.98
CO
12.00
5.73
5.75
PM
4.23
0.85
0.85
SO2
1.03
0.82
0.83
2.98
10.29
376.64
Energy, MJ
3.71
Emission costs, SEK
20.00
2.96
10.25
CO2
168.14
215.22
NOx
3.9
1.4
2.5
HC
0.16
0.04
0.07
CO
0.31
0.24
0.42
PM
0.11
0.04
0.06
SO2
0.027
0.035
0.060
Energy, MJ
Emission costs, SEK
0.10
0.52
0.12
0.42
0.22
0.74
CO2
282.48
333.59
365.88
NOx
6.5
2.2
2.5
HC
0.27
0.06
0.07
CO
0.53
0.37
0.41
PM
0.19
0.06
0.06
SO2
0.045
0.054
0.059
Energy, MJ
0.16
0.87
0.19
0.09
0.21
0.06
Emission costs, SEK
Table 8 Diesel line haul emissions
23
23
Rail Freight Costs
5 Social economic costs
Medium
High
739
1 299
1 871
Distance
dependent SEK/km
11.82
10.61
12.26
Empty wagon
Time dependent
SEK/hour
7.26
13.45
46.31
Distance
dependent SEK/km
0.39
0.59
1.07
Time dependent
SEK/hour
-
-
-
0.46
0.64
0.71
Engine
Low
Wagon in use
Social economic cost estimates can be carried out by adding societal costs to business economic
costs. Cost estimates for emissions, noise and accidents are added according to SIKA (2008). The
most important external factor is the environmental consequences of transport. The effects occur on
three levels: local, regional and global. Local effects are health effects, contamination (dirt) and
corrosion. Regional effects include damage to the environment and health effects. The global effects
include the greenhouse effect and reduction of the ozone layer (SIKA, 2002). For local emissions it is
assumed that 20% of the transport takes place within an average size city and 80% in the
countryside. SIKA (2004) calculated the population density along six selected transport links in
Sweden, and found that about 80-90% of the transport occurred in rural areas. The calculations are
further explained in Flodén (2007).
Time dependent
SEK/hour
Distance
dependent SEK/km
Medium
High
783
1 093
1 436
Distance
dependent SEK/km
53.15
33.50
34.68
Empty wagon
Time dependent
SEK/hour
7.26
13.45
46.31
Distance
dependent SEK/km
1.21
0.69
0.89
Time dependent
SEK/hour
-
-
-
1.82
0.42
0.18
Engine
Low
Wagon in use
Table 9 Societal electric line haul costs
Time dependent
SEK/hour
Distance
dependent SEK/km
Table 10 Societal diesel line haul costs
24
24
Rail Freight Costs
6 Terminal costs
The cost of loading and unloading at a terminal can vary substantially depending on the type of
terminal. The terminal activities normally consist of shunting of the train and terminal handling,
where the load units are loaded on to and unloaded off the train.
6.1 Shunting
Shunting is, roughly, the operation in which the train is moved into the terminal from the main line.
Shunting is normally performed by diesel engines, since a normal terminal cannot have overhead
electric lines, as the handling equipment lifts the load units from the top. When shunting, the electric
line-haul engine hands over the train to a diesel shunting engine that moves the train into the
terminal. The process is reversed when the train leaves the terminal. Some terminal designs and/or
handling equipment allows for the shunting to be performed by the electric line-haul engine, but
these terminals are rare.
A rough estimate of shunting time is 30 minutes to enter and 30 minutes to exit the terminal, but this
might vary depending on the terminal layout and number of wagons. A rough estimate is to calculate
one minute per wagon on the train (Nelldal, 2011). Bäckström, et al. (2009) surveyed the shunting at
a number of Swedish terminals and found that the time for shunting ranged from 20 minutes to 1
hour, or between 0.625 to 1.58 minutes per load unit.
A brake test is also sometimes needed before the train can depart, e.g. if the engine has been
decoupled from the wagons. This can be estimated at roughly 30 minutes or 1 minute per wagon
(Nelldal, 2011) and is performed by using the line haul engine. There is also some administrative
work to be done when the train departs, which takes about 30 minutes. All this will require the
presence of the engine driver or the person operating the shunting engine. Shunting engine drivers
have a salary that adds up to about 80% of the line haul driver’s salary (Green Cargo, 2009b).
The costs for shunting are the salary costs of the persons involved and the operating costs of the
shunting locomotive. Added costs are also empty repositioning costs if the line haul engine leaves the
terminal during the day, or if the shunting engine is not located at the terminal.
There are several different types of diesel shunting engines. Heavy shunting engines such as the T44
are the most commonly used, but smaller engines, such as the type V5 or Z65, are used at some
terminals.
Figure 8 A type T44 diesel engine (Picture: Wikipedia)
25
25
Rail Freight Costs
Fuel consumption is hard to estimate, and different sources estimate the consumption of a shunting
T44 to fall between 17 litres per hours when idle, to 45 litres during heavy shunting. The average
consumption is between 35-45 litres per hour. Bäckström, et al. (2009) calculated the fuel
consumption during an average one hour shunting at 37 litters, or 0.82 litres per load unit. This
amount would be less with a more modern engine. The smaller Z65 engines consumes 16 litres per
hour (Bäckström, et al., 2009). The cost of diesel is 5.18 SEK/litre (SPI, 2011). Note that rail traffic in
Sweden does not pay fuel taxes.
Figure 9 A type Z65/ Z70 diesel engine (Picture: Wikipedia)
6.1.1 Shunting costs
Due to the short distances involved in shunting, all costs are estimated as time dependent costs. The
cost below includes the shunting engine driver. Note that the division into low, medium and high
refers to the costs, and not necessarily the size of the terminal.
Low
Medium
High
Engine type
Smaller 2-axel engine
G4 Vossloh
Used T44
Utilisation,
hours/year
3 500
2 900
3 300
Time dependent
SEK/hour
1 021
1 152
1 129
Table 11 Shunting costs
26
26
Rail Freight Costs
6.1.2 Shunting emissions
The shunting emissions can be calculated using emission data from Bäckström, et al. (2009). This
estimates the emissions per hour shunting as:
Gram emission per
hour shunting
CO2
Low
Medium
High
40 608
73 602
93 906
NOx
400
493
2168
HC
17.8
13.9
89.5
CO
52.8
82.1
175.4
PM
5.3
12.2
61.8
SO2
6.5
11.8
15.1
Energy, MJ
23.45
42.50
54.22
Emission costs, SEK
87.47
143.85
289.18
Table 12 Shunting emissions
6.1.3 Shunting societal costs
Social economic costs can be calculated according to the same principles as the rail transport.
Time dependent
SEK/hour
Low
Medium
High
1 108
1 296
1 418
Table 13 Societal shunting costs
6.2 Terminal handling
Terminal handling includes the loading and unloading of load units from the train and the handling of
arriving and departing trucks and their load units. Normally, a reach stacker is used to lift materials
on or off of the unit load, but gantry cranes and other equipment might also be used.
Figure 10 A reach stacker (Picture: Green Cargo)
27
27
Rail Freight Costs
Unloading for a load unit takes only 3 minutes, but considering that a full train might carry 70 TEU
and most terminals only have one or two reach stackers, a full train takes 3-4 hours to load/unload.
This also includes the consideration that the reach stackers must spend some time lifting TEUs on or
off trucks, since the trucks often are not available to lift the TEU directly from the train to the truck.
Often, the load unit is put down on the ground first. Approximately 50% of the load units are handled
twice at a terminal (Woxenius, 2003). Bäckström, et al. (2009) estimates that a container takes 2-4
minute to unload with a total handling time for the reach stacker of 4-7 minutes, including
repositioning the reach stacker for the next load unit, etc. The same handling time for a trailer/ swap
body is 3-6 and 4-12 minutes.
6.3 Terminal costs
Terminal costs can vary greatly depending on the terminal design. Several studies indicate a cost of
about 200-300kr per handled load unit (Flodén, 2007, Nelldal, 2011, Sommar, 2010). The cost will
vary with the size of terminal, equipment used and type of load units. This report will not go into
detail on terminal costs and emissions as this has been studied in detail by Sommar (2010) and
Bäckström, et al. (2009) for Swedish conditions.
Sommar (2010) calculates the costs for four types of terminals per handled unit. A small terminal is
assumed to handle 25 000 TEU annually, a medium terminal handles 50 000 TEU annually, a large
terminal handles 100 000 TEU annually and a line terminal is assumed to handle 15 000 TEU annually.
Note that Sommar’s shunting costs are based on different assumptions than the shunting cost
calculations in chapter 6.1.1.
Small terminal
Medium terminal
Large terminal
Line terminal
Cost per load unit, SEK,
including shunting
320
268
239
257
Cost per load unit, SEK,
excluding shunting
256
182
166
257
Table 14 Terminal handling costs
A liner terminal is a smaller terminal where the trains stop along the line to tranship some of their
load units before continuing to the next terminal, much like a passenger train stopping at stations.
This is different from conventional terminals where the entire train is unloaded at one terminal.
Sommar’s cost calculation for a line terminal is based on the “Dalkullan” line train concept tested in
Sweden, where a fork lift truck accompanies the train on a separate wagon. At each stop, the train
engine driver drives the truck of the train and performs the transhipments. Only swap bodies are
handled. For more information see Bärthel and Woxenius (2003, 2004). It should be noted that liner
trains are a new concept, and a large number of alternative transhipments methods have been
suggested with very different cost structures.
The terminal handling costs can also be expressed in relation to the total cost of a train. When
examining the typical train from chapter 3.4 and adding the terminal handling costs of a medium size
terminal, one can see that the terminal handling constitutes a large share of the total rail costs. Note
that overhead costs are not separated out from the terminal costs.
28
28
Rail Freight Costs
Share of cost per train type
Cost component
Low
Medium
High
Terminal costs
50%
37%
24%
Electricity
15%
16%
15%
Cost of capital, engine
3%
11%
17%
Overhead costs
7%
8%
10%
Salary
7%
7%
7%
Maintenance, engine
8%
7%
7%
Infrastructure fee
5%
6%
6%
Cost of capital, wagons
3%
5%
11%
Maintenance, wagons
3%
3%
5%
Figure 11 Share for each cost component for electric powered train
6.4 Environment
The emissions from terminal handling mostly come from shunting and the diesel powered handling
equipment at the terminal. Bäckström, et al. (2009) estimates the emissions from terminals. His
calculation includes shunting, empty running, multiple lifts etc. at the terminals. Note that the
assumptions are not identical to the assumptions in the terminal cost calculations by Sommar (2010)
in chapter 6.3. However, it is not possible to calculate emissions based on Sommar’s data, or to
calculate costs based on Bäckström’s data. The emission costs have been calculated based on the
data from Bäckström using the cost estimates according to SIKA (2008) explained in chapter 0.
Gram emission per
terminal handling
of a load unit
CO2
Small terminal
Medium terminal
Large terminal
5 367
6 163
8 286
NOx
56
61
76
HC
22
23
25
CO
35
39
47
PM
2,4
2,8
3,8
SO2
0.000017
0.000020
0.000027
Energy, MJ
74
85
114
12.62
14.22
18.56
Emission costs, SEK
Table 15 Terminal handling emissions
6.5 Social economic costs
Social economic costs can be calculated according to the same principles as for the rail transport. The
calculations are based on costs from Sommar and emissions estimations from Bäckström et al.
Small
Medium
Large
Cost per lift, SEK
333
282
258
Cost per lift, SEK,
excluding shunting
269
196
185
Table 16 Societal terminal handling costs
29
29
Rail Freight Costs
7 Rail cost uncertainties
Rail cost calculations are very dependent on the specific case being calculated, e.g. how the transport
system is designed. Some cost factors are also difficult to estimate, for example, maintenance and
overhead costs.
However, the impact on the total costs from most of the cost factors is small. A sensitivity analysis
can be performed by varying some key variables. Using the figures for the typical train from chapter
3.4, a number of tests can be performed to show how changes will impact the cost per tonnekm. A
50% cost increase has been assumed in all input variables. The changes have been calculated one by
one.
50% increase in
Low
Medium
High
Comment
Cost exactly known as charging made
according to exact formula. However, true
consumption difficult to estimate
Exactly known today, but difficult to
estimate for the future.
Electricity
consumption
17%
14%
11%
Electricity price
17%
14%
11%
Over-head costs
13%
13%
13%
Difficult to estimate.
Engine purchase
price
3%
10%
13%
Well know for new engines. Harder to
determine for used engines.
Interest rate
3%
8%
11%
Salary costs
8%
7%
5%
Engine utilisation km
-2%
-7%
-9%
Engine maintenance
9%
6%
5%
Difficult to get data.
Wagon purchase
price
4%
4%
8%
Well know for new wagons. Harder for
used wagons.
Wagon maintenance
4%
3%
3%
Difficult to get data.
Engine depreciation
period
-1%
-3%
-4%
Hard to determine exactly due to the long
service life of an engine
Wagon utilisation
km
-3%
-3%
-5%
Well known if the transport system design
is known. Otherwise hard to estimate.
Wagon depreciation
period
-2%
-1%
-2%
Hard to determine exactly due to the long
service life of a wagon.
Well known today, but difficult to
estimate for the future.
Basic salaries well know, but total costs
are very dependent on the specific system
design and staff planning.
Well known if the transport system design
is known. Otherwise hard to estimate.
Table 17 Changes in cost per grosstonnekm from a 50% cost increase in one factor
A 50% change in an input variable is a very large change, and it is not likely that the differences
between different system designs and data sources are that large. Even then, the impact on total
costs in most cases is just a few percentage points. The key factors here are the price and
consumption of electricity, which create a change of 14% for a medium cost train. For this factor, the
price charged by the infrastructure provider is public and well known. Electricity consumption is, as
discussed above, difficult to estimate precisely. However, Trafikverket charges trains according to a
30
30
Rail Freight Costs
linear mathematical equation based on train weight. When doing cost calculations, the question of
whether or not consumption estimates are exact is not relevant, as long as the calculations use the
same estimates as Trafikverket uses for charging the operator. This might change in the future as
more engines are equipped with electricity meters, and thus are charged for their true consumption.
However, with an installed electricity meter, the true consumption should not be difficult to
estimate. The errors in the estimated electricity consumption will impact the emission calculations.
The overhead costs are also an important factor. Unfortunately, this factor is very difficult to
estimate. It can only be emphasized that care must be taken in trying to estimate the overhead cost
as accurately as possible, and not use a general percentage surcharge if other information is
available.
Other important factors are the purchase price of the engine and the utilisation and maintenance
costs. The purchase prices can be considered to be fairly well-known, at least for new engines.
However, it is often difficult to get good cost estimates from maintenance costs. Utilisation is very
much dependent on the specific system layout, as discussed above. It is therefore important to use
utilisation data that is as specific as possible in order to get a good result.
31
31
Rail Freight Costs
8 Conclusion
It can be concluded that the costs of operating a freight train can vary substantially depending on the
equipment used and the system design. However, the total cost is fairly robust for changes in
individual input factors. It is important to consider the whole system for the rail transport and not
just focus on a single transport when calculating costs. The individual cost factors in rail cost
calculations are relatively well-known; however, the ways in which the total rail transport system is
designed and in which the equipment is used have a great impact on the total cost. The largest
contributions to cost are made by electricity consumption and the capital cost of the engine.
32
32
Rail Freight Costs
9 References
Banverket, 2010, Underlagsrapport Avgifter i Banverkets Järnvägsnätsbeskrivning 2011, Banverket,
F10-4086/TR00, Borlänge
Banverket & SIKA, 2002, Nya banavgifter? Analys och förslag, Statens institut för
kommunikationsanalys, SIKA rapport, 2002:2, Stockholm
Bohm, P., 1996, Samhällsekonomisk effektivitet, 5. ed, Stockholm, SNS (Studieförbundet näringsliv
och samhälle)
Button, K. J., 1993, Transport economics, 2. ed, Aldershot, Edward Elgar
Bäckström, S. & Bohlin, M. & Franzen, U. & Jonsson, P., 2009, Miljökalkyler för intermodala
transportkedjor - Detaljerad beräkningsmetodik och relevanta schablonvärden, WSP Analys &
Strategi, SIR-C Swedish Intermodal Transport Research Centre, Rapport nr. 2009:6,
Bärthel, F. & Woxenius, J., 2003, The Dalecarlian Girl - Evaluation of the implementation of the Lightcombi concept, Paper presented at GS (Alliance for Global Sustainability) Annual Meeting, University
of Tokyo, 24-27 March
Bärthel, F. & Woxenius, J., 2004, Developing intermodal transport for small flows over short
distances, Transportation Planning & Technology, 27 (5), pp. 403-424
Flodén, J., 2007, Modelling intermodal freight transport : the potential of combined transport in
Sweden, Doctoral thesis, Department of Business Administration, School of Business, Economics and
Law at University of Gothenburg, BAS Publishing, Göteborg, http://hdl.handle.net/2077/17141
Green Cargo, 2007, Pressmeddelande - Faktablad modernisering av lok T44 och Rc2
Green Cargo, 2009a, Avtal om allmänna anställningsvillkor för Green Cargo AB, A 78-11,
Green Cargo, 2009b, Avtal om lönesystem vid Green Cargo, A 78-03,
Green Cargo, 2010, Pressmeddelande - Moderniserade ellok till Green Cargo,
Green Cargo, 2011, Green Cargo Godsvagnar,
http://www.greencargo.com/sv/Godsvagnar/Start/Oversikt/, Accessed february 15 2011
IFEU, 2008, EcoTransIT: Ecological Transport Information Tool - Environmental Methodology and
Data, Institut für Energieund Umweltforschung Heidelberg, Heidelberg
Nelldal, B.-L., 2011, Enhetskostnader för godstransporter med järnväg - Underlagsrapport till
projektet Strategisk modellering mellan landsväg och järnväg, Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan, KTH,
Stockholm
Nelldal, B.-L. & Bark, P. & Wajsman, J. & Troche, G., 2005, Konkurrenskraftiga kombitransportsystem
- Effektiva tågsystem för godstransporter Underlagsrapport, Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan (KTH),
Järnvägsgruppen, Rapport 0513, Stockholm
Oehrstroem, J., 2005, E-mail from Jakob Oehrstroem, AAE Ahaus Alstätter Eisenbahn, 7 november
33
33
Rail Freight Costs
SCB, 2009, Statistics Sweden On-line database Lönedatabasen 2009,
http://www.scb.se/Pages/SalariesSearch____259066.aspx, Accessed 2011
SIKA, 2002, Luftföroreningar : Delrapport ASEK, SIKA Rapport, 2002:12, Stockholm
SIKA, 2004, Trafikens externa effekter: Uppföljning och utveckling 2003, Statens institut för
kommunikationsanalys, SIKA Rapport, 2004:4, Stockholm
SIKA, 2008, Samhällsekonomiska principer och kalkylvärden för transportsektorn: ASEK 4, Statens
institut för kommunikationsanalys, SIKA PM, 2008:3, Östersund
SIKA, 2009, Bantrafik 2008, Statens institut för kommunikationsanalys, SIKA Statistik, 2009:22,
Stockholm
Skatteverket, 2011, Arbetsgivaravgifter,
http://www.skatteverket.se/foretagorganisationer/forarbetsgivare/socialavgifter/arbetsgivaravgifter
.4.233f91f71260075abe8800020817.html, Accessed February 25 2011
Sommar, R., 2010, Utvärdering av intermodala transportkedjor - kostnadsmodeller TFK, KTH, SIR-C
Swedish Intermodal Transport Research Centre,
SPI, 2011, Priser & Skatter, http://spi.se/statistik/priser/diesel, Accessed March 2 2011
Trafikverket, 2010a, Elprisrapport 10-10-28, Trafikverket, Borlänge
Trafikverket, 2010b, Network statement 2011, Trafikverket, Borlänge
Woxenius, J., 2003, Intermodala transporter och SJ/Green Cargos utvecklingsprojekt Lättkombi,
Institutionen för transportteknik, Chalmers tekniska högskola, Meddelande, 117, Göteborg
34
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
Appendix A – Electric Train Costs
35
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
36
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
37
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
38
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
39
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
Appendix B – Diesel Train Costs
40
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
41
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
42
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
43
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
Appendix C – Electric emissions
44
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
45
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
Appendix D – Diesel emissions
46
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
47
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
Appendix E – Electric Societal costs
48
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
49
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
50
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
Appendix F - Diesel societal costs
51
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
52
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
53
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
Appendix G – Shunting costs
54
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
55
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
Appendix H – Shunting societal costs
56
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
Appendix I – Shunting emissions
57
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
Appendix J – Terminal handling costs
58
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
Appendix K – Terminal handling societal costs
59
Rail Freight Costs - Appendixes
Appendix L – Terminal handling emissions